Weekend Trip Idea: Cabin Weekend in West Virginia

It’s about that time of year where I’ve fully anticipating embracing winter, yet want to sneak in one last nice weather outdoor weekend, so for this edition of “Weekend Trip Idea” we’re heading south, West Virginia to be exact.

A couple of years ago there was a deal on Living Social advertising cabin rentals in the mountains of WV that caught my eye. Unfortunately I’d just paid for my airfare to Ireland a week or two before and had to put it out of my mind. I’ve found it again and if I was heading down to WV for one last hoo-rah before the weather starts getting crappy (which I’m not, because grades are due on Monday) it’s exactly where I’d be staying.

One of the Mountain Creek Cabins in WV.

It’s called Mountain Creek Cabins and it’s situated in the small town of Bruceton Mills. There’s 8 cabins to choose from that house 4-5 guests each (comfortably, I presume–you could pay extra for more people), and they seem pretty nice with tiny front porches and back decks, grills, and outdoor hot-tubs. It looks like an awesome way to spend a weekend and I’m going to have to research how much snow this area gets. Cross country skiing or snow shoeing out from your own tiny cabin and coming back to some booze and an outdoor hot tub soak is pretty much my ideal life.

I figured just hanging out at the cabin, maybe playing some bean bags or grilling or hiking, would be a nice relaxing weekend reconvening with nature, but there’s a ton to do in the area.

The nearby Cheat River is known for it’s whitewater rafting. Cheat River Outfitters can get you all set up. They also offer rock climbing, paintball and caving.

This area of West Virginia is extremely close to both the PA and Maryland borders and just over the MD border, in McHenry is Wisp Mountain Ski Resort. On the top of Wisp Mountain is the Adventure Sports Center, an Olympic training style whitewater course made of concrete and natural rock. The Adventure Sport Center allows you to come and either raft, kayak or riverboard down the mountain. At the bottom a conveyer belt will return you to the top so that you can experience it all over again. They also offer rock climbing courses and guided hikes.

If you are just looking for simple hikes, consult the West Virginia State Park system website or check out the local rail trails site. Coopers Rock State Forest is just one of the many parks in the area with hiking routes.

If at some point during the weekend you’re wanting a more suburban experience, Morgantown, West Virginia is only about a half hour drive.

Morgantown is the county seat of Mongohelia County, and if that sounds familiar it’s because it might remind you a little bit of the Monongahela (which runs through Morgantown) of Pittsburg, which coincidentally is only about an hour’s drive north.

Morgantown is home to West Virginia University and is affectionately known as the “number one small city in America.” During the school year it’s essentially a college town so once you exhaust yourself being an outdoor adrenaline junkie, head into town for some dinner and reverting back to college behavior before returning to end the night hot tubbing under the stars.